By Carla Jaeger
Sport Integrity Australia has appointed its own integrity officer to the peak body for ice skating to oversee a spate of complaints involving the sport.
SIA chief executive David Sharpe said on Tuesday that others within the skating world had come forward to detail their own concerns, following the news that Australian Olympic figure skater Brendan Kerry had been permanently barred from competing in the US for allegedly engaging in sexual misconduct with a minor.
Brendan Kerry, competing at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, has been banned for life from US Figure Skating.Credit: Getty Images
Australian skating authorities are now investigating the events that led the US Centre for SafeSport to impose the ban. Kerry, a three-time Olympian, has said he is innocent of the allegation and will appeal the ban, which will trigger an independent arbitration.
Sharpe confirmed that SIA had requested details from SafeSport regarding its investigation and the subsequent banning of Kerry, but could not comment further.
SafeSport was established by the US Congress in 2019 to investigate allegations of misconduct within Olympic and Paralympic sports, following the US gymnastics abuse scandal. It is the country’s peak body for investigating abuse in sport.
Amid the investigation into Kerry, other Australian skaters have come forward with their own complaints. James Min, a two-time national silver-medallist figure skater, called out the sport last month in a statement.
“I’m beyond sick and tired of nothing being done to protect the safety of children in this sport, and it’s about time changes are made. There have been too many incidences now,” he wrote on Facebook.
“I myself am a victim of grooming by an adult ... However, I didn’t receive the support and protection I needed during this time. I spent a lot of my career as an athlete suffering internally and not being able to reach out to anyone. Or when I did reach out, no one could provide me with the help I needed.
“This isn’t about my story. This is about making a change in the way we handle and navigate the safety of athletes in Australia. The last thing I would want is for another athlete to have to go through what I went through and to suffer the way I did in silence. We must protect the safety of our athletes in Australia and now is the time to make a change.”
Min’s statement linked to a petition created by former figure skater Celeste Milner calling for an expansion of SIA’s responsibilities to protect athletes. At the time of writing it has been signed more than 1000 times.
Sport Integrity Australia chief executive David Sharpe.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Sharpe confirmed SIA had “received a small number of complaints; however, the extent of media coverage does not match the number of complaints received”.
SIA will temporarily deploy an integrity manager to assist in the handling of those complaints. It has done this before for other sports, including volleyball and gymnastics.
“The integrity manager will provide support to Ice Skating Australia in the management of matters,” Sharpe said. “We are concerned about the issues raised in the media, and we will work with the sport to ensure an appropriate response to protect the safety of all participants.”
He confirmed that any complaint which detailed allegations of criminal conduct would be referred to police or child protection agencies.
Ice Skating Australia president Wendy Meik has been contacted for comment.
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